Episodes

  • It’s the end of season seven, so it is time for the traditional special postbag edition of the podcast. Much is covered: feminist dining tables, 17th-century household books, regional gingerbreads, musk-flavoured sweeties and much more.

    Thanks to everyone who wrote in with a question, comment or query.

    The podcast will return in August.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Previous podcast episodes mentioned in today’s episode:

    Spices with Ian Anderson

    Christmas Special 2023: Mince Pies

    The Philosophy of Chocolate with Sam Bilton

    Historical Cookery with Jay Reifel

    Ormskirk Gingerbread with Anouska Lewis

    18th Century Tavern Cooking with Marc Meltonville

    18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

    Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville

    Elizabeth Raffald with Alessandra Pino & Neil Buttery

    Food in Gothic Literature with Alessandra Pino

    Traditional Food of Lincolnshire with Rachel Green

    Blog posts mentioned in today’s episode:

    Quick & Easy Puff or Rough Puff Pastry

    What’s in a Name?: Buttery

    #446 Lincolnshire Chine

    #174 Grasmere Gingerbread I

    #244 Grasmere Gingerbread II

    Books mentioned in today’s episode:

    The Accomplish’t Cook by Robert May

    Good Things in England by Florence White

    Food in England by Dorothy Hartley

    Lost Country Practices by Dorothy Hartley

    Other things mentioned in today’s episode:

  • Today I am talking with chef Jay Reifel who specialises in cooking historical food. He has co-written a beautiful book with collaborator Victoria Flexner called The History of the World in 10 Dinners.

    We talk about the influence of other cultures on British cuisine as well as the influence British cuisine has had on other cuisines, sweet and sour food, mince pies, mediocre medieval spices, and helmeted cocks – amongst many other things.

    This is the last regular episode of the run, meaning that the next episode will be the traditional postbag edition – so send me your comments, questions, and queries. Your deadline is the 28th of May 2024.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Follow Jay on Instagram @jayreifel and visit his website jayreifel.com – where you can find more details of his book.

    Things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Jay’s Helmeted Cock in Vogue

    Neil’s Helmeted Cock on Channel 5

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    The History of Food Waste & Preservation with Eleanor Barnett

    Medieval Meals & Manners with Danièle Cybulskie

    Spices with Ian Anderson

    Christmas Special 2023: Mince Pies

    Tudor Cooking & Cuisine with Brigitte Webster

    Forme of Cury with Christopher Monk

    Previous blog posts pertinent to today’s episode:

    Westmorland Sweet Lamb Pie

    Favourite Cook Books no.3: The Forme of Cury, Part I

    Favourite Cook Books no. 3: The Forme of Cury, part 2 – recipes

    Upcoming events:

    British Library Food Season 2024, 25 May at 2pm. 

    We Invented the Weekend festival, Salford, 16th June

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  • Niche topic alert! Today I am

    talking to Anouska Lewis about Ormskirk Gingerbread.

    Anouska is the writer and presenter

    of the BBC Sounds podcast Hometown Boring? The first episode

    being all about Ormskirk gingerbread

    We

    talk about how one lands getting a podcast series on BBC Sounds in the first

    place; the ingredients of Ormskirk gingerbread, the town’s pride in its

    gingerbread, the gingerbread ladies who sold them at the train station in the

    Victorian period, Ormskirk’s link with Liverpool’s sugar and slave trade, and

    the value of having difficult conversations – amongst many other things.

    Support the podcast and blogs by

    becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium

    content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Listen to Hometown Boring? on BBC Sounds

    Follow Anouska on Instagram @history_hun and TikTok @historyhun

    Things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Ormskirk Gingerbread on the Foods of England website

    A Dark History of Sugar by Neil Buttery

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    Gingerbread with Sam Bilton

    Upcoming events:

    British Library Food Season 2024, 25 May at 2pm. 

    Ludlow Food Festival, Friday 13th September. 

    Warwick Words History Festival, Thursday 3rd October at 4.30pm. 

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page:

  • Today I am talking to Eleanor Barnett about the history of food waste and preservation.

    Eleanor has written a fantastic book about the history of how we as a society have (and sometimes have not) dealt with eliminating waste and preserving precious food resources. It is called Leftovers: A History of Food Waste & Preservation, and it is out now published by Bloomsbury.

    We talk about the fabulously wasteful food of 17th century cook Robert May, whose responsibility it was to preserve food in the home (hint: not the man of the house), pies as preservation method, the food waste used in agriculture and industry, food preservation in wartime, and Hannah Glasse’s dubious method for preserving very rank potted birds, plus many other things – we fit a lot into today’s episode.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Leftovers: A History of Food Waste & Preservation is out now.

    Books mentioned in today’s episode:

    Robert May’s The Accomplisht Cook

    Sir Hugh Platt’s Delights for Ladies

    Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    London’s Street Food Sellers with Charlie Taverner

    Christmas Special 2023: Mince Pies

    Upcoming events:

    The Leeds Symposium of Food History & Traditions, York, 27 April 2024. 

    British Library Food Season 2024, 25 May at 2pm. Tickets and info to come soon!

    Ludlow Food Festival, Friday 13th September. 

    Warwick Words History Festival, Thursday 3rd October at 4.30pm. 

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar...

  • Today I am talking to three guests about the Scottish Salt Industry – returning guest Aaron Allen, and also Joanne Hambly and Ed Bethune

    In today’s most enlightening discussion, we talk about the importance of the salt industry in Scotland from the early modern period, the uses of salt – beyond seasoning of food, the Cockenzie Saltworks Project, the social history of the site and some of the exciting archaeological finds uncovered there, how salt was made, and why Sunday salt is the best salt – amongst many other things.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Salt: Scotland’s Oldest Newest Industry is out now and published by Birlinn.

    Other things mentioned in today’s episode:

    1722 Waggonway Project website

    Salt Symposium 2021 on the SCAPE Trust website

    Book your ticket for the 2024 Leeds Symposium on Food History and Traditions

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    Cake Baxters in Early Modern Scotland with Aaron Allen

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open.

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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  • In today’s episode, I am talking with author and food historian Pen Vogler about her book Stuffed: A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain which was published toward the end of last year 2023.

    We discuss how precarious our food supply was and is, the Enclosure Acts and their effect upon our relationship with food, allotments, havercakes, adulteration and malnutrition, school dinners and Hannah Woolley’s pumpkin pie, amongst many other things.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    Pen’s book Stuffed: A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain is out now.

    Oxford Literary Festival

    Hexham Book Festival

    Hay Festival

    Find Pen on social media: Twitter & Instagram @PenVogler

    Books and other things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain by Pen Vogler

    My interpretation of Hannah Woolley/W.M.’s pumpkin pie recipe

    Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    The School Meals Service with Heather Ellis

    English Food, a People's History with Diane Purkiss

    A History of Herbalism with Emma Kay

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky@neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open.

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page:

  • In today’s episode, I am talking with renowned food historian, chef and confectioner Ivan Day.

    The 38th Leeds Food Symposium of Food History and Traditions is coming up – 27 April 2024 to be exact – Ivan is the Chair of the Symposium, so we had a good talk about the history and influence of this most important annual event on the study of food history.

    We talked about a pioneer of food history study C. Ann Wilson who was the librarian at the Brotherton Library at the University of Leeds, who, with Peter Brears, Lynette Hunter and Jennifer Staid, created the Symposium in 1986. We also talk about this year's Symposium on 27 April 2024. The topic of this year being ‘Presenting the Food of the Past in Museums and Historic Houses’.

    Also discussed: the excellent work of Peter Brears, the speakers of this year’s symposium, the social side of the symposium – including the excellent buffet – and why the Leeds symposium is held in York, amongst many other things.

    Support the podcast and blogs by becoming, if you can, a £3 monthly subscriber, and unlock lots of premium content, or treat me to a one-off virtual pint or coffee: click here.

    The Leeds Symposium on Food

    History & Traditions website

    The Symposium’s Eventbrite page

    Find Ivan on Instagram @ivanpatrickday

    Books and other things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Brotherton Library cookery collection, University of Leeds

    Food & Drink in Britain from the Stone Age to Recent Times by C. Anne Wilson

    Over a Red-Hot Stove edited by Ivan Day

    Fairfax House, York

    York Castle Museum

    Shibden Hall, Halifax

    Cooking & Dining in the Victorian Country House by Peter Brears

    The Food Museum

    Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper by Neil Buttery

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    18th Century Dining with Ivan Day

  • This bonus episode is in fact a pilot for a new podcast show I have made with Sam Bilton and Alessandra Pino.

    Enjoy!

    In the very first episode, Neil is presenting and gives everyone a free choice as to what topic they want to talk about, as long as it begins with A of course. Alessandra goes for apples, Neil chooses absinthe and Sam looks into adulteration.

    Links to things mentioned in this episode:

    ‘13 Magical Ways to Use Apples’

    Glyn Hughes’ Alan Turin sculpture

    ‘Lancashire man poisoned after eating cherry seeds’ article on BBC News

    ‘How Did La Belle Époque Become Europe’s Golden Age?’ article on The Collector

    ‘Site of "The Absinthe Murders"’ article on Atlas Obscura

    The Apple Tree (1952) by Daphne du Maurier

    Hallowe’en Party (1969) by Agatha Christie

    The July Ghost (1982) by A.S. Byatt

    Join our free Substack to get extra bonus features: https://substack.com/profile/147444179-sam-bilton 

    Anything to add? Don’t forget we want to hear your suggestions for future topics.

    Contact the pod:

    email: aisforapplepod.gmail.com

    Social media:

    twitter/X: @aisforapplepod

    Instagram: @aisforapplepod_



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  • In today’s episode, I am talking with medieval historian Danièle Cybulskie – also known as the 5-Minute Medievalist – about table manners in the Middle Ages.

    Danièle’s excellent new book Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World is out now and published by Abbeville Press.

    We talked about table manners, the importance of sharing and cleanliness, carving terminology, turkey legs and the pressures put on the person organising and overseeing the feasts and meals – the lady of the house…amongst many other things.

    Danièle’s website

    Danièle is known as @5MinMedievalist on all social media platforms

    Find out more about Chivalry and Courtesy: Medieval Manners for a Modern World here

    There are four Easter eggs associated with this episode. To become a £3 monthly subscriber, and access them and other premium content, or to buy me a virtual pint or coffee to support the running of the blogs and podcast click here.

    Links to things mentioned in today’s episode:

    The Goodman of Paris

    BBC Food Programme episode about bitter foods on BBC Sounds

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    Forme of Cury with Christopher Monk

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open.

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
  • In today’s episode, I am talking with Ian Anderson who has written a fantastic book published by the History Press called The History and Natural History of Spices.

    We discuss what a spice is – the definition changes through time, and includes animal as well as plant products – black pepper, the Portuguese spice trade, sugar as a spice, mustard and Thomas Moore’s head – amongst many other things.

    Ian’s Instagram page: @ian.d.anderson

    Find out more about The History and Natural History of Spices here.

    There is one Easter egg associated with this episode. To become a £3 monthly subscriber, and access them and other premium content, or to buy me a virtual pint or coffee to support the running of the blogs and podcast click here.

    Links to things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Ivan Day’s blog post showing some of his sugar sculptures

    The Hoxne pepperpot

    Eventbrite page for the 2024 Leeds Food and Drink Symposium April 2024

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open.

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

    Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy
  • In today’s episode I am talking to returning guest and friend of the show food historian and writer Sam Bilton about her new book The Philosophy of Chocolate published by the British Library.

    Today Sam and I talk about how the peoples of Mesoamerica took their chocolate, how it came to Britain, chocolate houses, the sexualisation of chocolate, and the Cadbury’s Crème Egg Controversy, amongst other things.

    Find out more about the Philosophy of Chocolate here.

    There are 2 Easter eggs associated with this episode. To become a £3 monthly subscriber, and access them and other premium content, or to buy me a virtual pint or coffee to support the running of the blogs and podcast click here.

    Links to things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Sam’s podcast Comfortably Hungry

    A Flake ad from in 1980s

    A Flake ad from the 1990s

    The Cadbury’s Caramel rabbit

    Sam’s social media handles:

    Twitter/Insta/Threads: @mrssbilton

    Bluesky: @mrssbilton.bsky.social

    Sam’s website: sambilton.com

    Previous episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    Lent Episode 3: Pagan Lent & Easter

    A Dark History of Chocolate with Emma Kay

    The Philosophy of Curry with Sejal Sukhadwala

    Gingerbread with Sam Bilton

    Saffron with Sam Bilton

    Tripe Special

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter...

  • S07E03

    Apples & Orchards shownotes

    Happy New Year and welcome to episode 50 of the British Food History Podcast! I talk to Joanna Crosby about the history of apples and orchards in England. I saved this episode specially for today because it is Twelfth Night – the last day of Christmas – the traditional day of the Wassail, the blessing of the apple orchards. Joanna’s new book Apples and Orchards since the Eighteenth Century is out now from Bloomsbury.

    Things discussed today include, the origins of the apple, growing and grafting apple trees, some of the excellent names given to varieties – including Bramley's Seedling and the Cox’s Orange Pippin, Wassailing and the London apple women of the nineteenth century. And more!

    There are 4 Easter eggs associated with this episode. To become a £3 monthly subscriber, and access them and other premium content, or to buy me a virtual pint or coffee to support the running of the blogs and podcast click here.

    Things mentioned in today’s episode:

    The Pomological Personality Picker

    Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor (Vol 2)

    Neil’s Apple Hat recipe

    Neil’s appearance on Fear Feasts podcast

    Previous episodes pertinent to today’s episode:

    London’s Street Food Sellers with Charlie Taverner

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops.

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. His DMs are open. He is also on BlueSky at @neilbuttery.bsky.social

    You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory



    This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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  • Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

    Leaving a mince pie out for Santa this year? I do hope so. This year’s Christmas Special is all about mince pies: the history and baking, as well as the confusion surrounding the fact that there’s no meat in them. Neil makes some early 18th-century-shaped pies and makes a sweet lamb mincemeat from the North of England. He’s on a mission to get the meat back into mincemeat AND to have them on the menu outside of the Christmas period.

    A huge thank you to Ivan Day for his help regarding the making of those 18th-century pies.

    *blog posts of recipes to accompany the episode will appear on Wednesday 20th December and Friday 22nd December 2023.*

    Things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Ivan Day’s blog post about mince pies

    The Accomplisht Cook by Robert May

    The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald

    Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management

    Receipts of Pastry and Cookery by Edward Kidder

    Jane Grigson’s Orange Mincemeat

    Mrs Beeton’s Mincemeat Recipe

    Jane Grigson’s Gooseberry Tarts recipe

    Ivan Day’s historical pie-making course

    Neil’s appearance on the Full English podcast

    Neil’s appearance on the Shackbaggerly podcast

    Neil's A Dark History of Sugar talk

    Neil's Museum of Royal Worcester talk

    Previous episodes mentioned in today’s episode:

    Pagan Lent and Easter (includes a section on hot cross buns)

    Elizabeth Raffald with Alessandra Pino & Neil Buttery

    Christmas Feasting with Annie Gray

  • Welcome to a special bonus episode of the podcast which is a collaboration between myself and the Delicious Legacy, hosted by Thomas Ntinas. It’s all about some of the women who were writing cookery books in the 18th century, their characters and the influence they still have upon us today.

    Things mentioned in today’s episode:

    Thomas’s podcast Delicious Legacy

    The Compleat Housewife by Eliza Smith

    The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse

    Professed Cookery by Ann Cook

    The Experienced English Housekeeper by Elizabeth Raffald

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A. Cook’s Perspective: A Fascinating Insight into 18th-century Recipes by Two

    Historic Cooks by Clarissa F. Dillon & Deborah J. Peterson

    More on Yorkshire Christmas Pyes

    Neil’s disastrous Christmas Pye

    Ivan Day’s Historic Ices course

    Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery his DMs are open. Youcan also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

    Neil’s books:

    Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper

    A Dark History of Sugar

    Both are published by Pen & Sword and available from all good bookshops....

  • It’s the end of the current run so that means it is time for the now traditional end-of-season special postbag edition.

    Thank you to everyone who has listened, downloaded, donated and spread the good word. I’ll be back in a couple of months (hopefully) for season seven!

    Previous episodes mentioned in the episode:

    The School Meals Service with Heather Ellis

    Tudor Cooking & Cuisine with Brigitte Webster

    Tinned Food with Lindsay Middleton

    Cake Baxters in Early Modern Scotland with Aaron Allen

    Tripe Special: Sam Bilton & Neil Buttery Talk Tripe

    The British Cook Book with Ben Mervis

    Forme of Cury with Christopher Monk

    Neil’s blog posts mentioned in this episode:

    Boiled turkey with celery sauce

    Boiled leg of mutton with caper sauce

    Sea kale

    Sago pudding

    Pink sponge & custard

    Links to things mentioned in this episode:

    Leeds Symposium on Food History and Traditions

    Gousto statement about using Tetra Pak

    Stephanie Rosenbaum makes Pizza on YouTube

    Alan Scott obituary in the New York Times

    Museum of Royal Worcester website

    Burley’s pudding tree

    Handel’s kitchen recreated

  • Neil’s guest is Diane Purkiss and they talk about just some of the topics covered in her book English Food a People’s History published by William Collins. Diane is Professor of English Literature at Oxford University, and she has written about such topics as the English Civil War, the supernatural, especially witchcraft; folklore and fairytales; writer’s block and of course food and food history.

    They had a rather meandering conversation that covered: bread, and its poor reputation compared to that bake in France; coffeehouses and politics, and coffeehouses as early examples of gay bars; tea and Empire; and foraging – the latter being particularly tricky to get at.

    £3 subscribers can hear the full interview with Diane on the Easter Eggs page of the website: http://britishfoodhistory.com/easter-eggs/

    Diane’s book English Food: a People’s History available here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/english-food-a-peoples-history-diane-purkiss?variant=39825973411918

    Neil’s blog post about dock pudding (with recipe): http://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/05/26/dock-pudding/

    Other bits:

    The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

    Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

    He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/events/dark-history-sugar/

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’ http://neilcooksgrigson.com

    Order Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper at your favourite bookshop, or from the publisher Pen & Sword History: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Before-Mrs-Beeton-Hardback/p/22437

    Neil’s other book A Dark History of Sugar is available now from all bookshops as well as from the publisher Pen & Sword: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/A-Dark-History-of-Sugar-Hardback/p/20481

    Don’t forget the upcoming postbag episode, if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email Neil at [email protected], or find me on twitter @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery my DMs are open. You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page:

  •  S06E09 The School

    Meals Service with Heather Ellis: shownotes

    Neil’s guest today is Heather Ellis from Sheffield University. Helen is a historian of Education and she, along with academics from the University of Wolverhampton and UCL, have just embarked on an ambitious project looking at people’s experiences and memories of their school dinners in all four UK Home Nations. School dinners have been supplied by the School Meals Service – i.e. by the Government – since 1908.

    They talked about the project, the origins of the School Meals Service in the first decade of the 20th century, the foods served up over the next 100 years or so including pink sponge and custard, liver with the tubes attached and the now infamous turkey twizzlers, Maggie Thatcher – milk snatcher, the fall in the quality of school dinners, as well as Jamie Oliver’s campaign to get them sorted out, and many other things. The School Meals Project wants your food memories if you have had experience with school meals in the UK, however old you may be and whatever the interaction may be.

    School Meals Project website: https://www.theschoolmealsproject.co.uk/

    Find Heather on Twitter @HeatherLWEllis

    Find The School Meals Project on Twitter: @ESRCSchoolMeals

    Jamie Oliver’s school meals campaign clip: https://youtu.be/DG66rKiNkw4

    When published, Neil’s blog post with a recipe for sago pudding, will be found at www.britishfoodhistory.com

    Other past blog post recipes for school dinner-style foods:

    Rice pudding: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2015/01/14/rice-pudding/

    How to make a steamed sponge pudding: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/01/13/how-to-make-a-steamed-sponge-pudding-a-step-by-step-guide/

    Jam roly-poly: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2011/11/26/jam-roly-poly/

    Proper custard: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2012/03/02/proper-custard/

    Eton Mess: https://britishfoodhistory.com/2011/08/11/eton-mess/

    Other bits:

    The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

    Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

    He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/events/dark-history-sugar/

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

  • Neil talks to returning guest Kevin Geddes. He told us all about the wonderful, fabulous Fanny Cradock, but today he is talking to me about Television Cookery Shows and their cookbook tie-ins. Kevin wrote a very interesting paper on the early history and origins of TV Cookbooks, and Neil found it so interesting, and he thought you would find it interesting too.

    We talked about the early cooking programmes on the BBC before the war, and afterwards; the post-war TV cooks the theatrical Philip Harben and the steady pair of hands Marguerite Patten and how they published their own books whilst working for the BBC; the BBC’s worry about selling commercial products whilst being a public service broadcaster; and the one who really got it all going Mrs Fanny Cradock.

    Kevin’s Food and Foodways paper: https://napier-repository.worktribe.com/output/3133885/accompanying-the-series-early-british-television-cookbooks-1946-1976

    Find Kevin on twitter, Instagram and Threads @keepcalmandfannyon

    Kevin’s blog: https://keepcalmandfannyon.blogspot.com/

    Clip of Philip Harben demonstrating boiling techniques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj-tapF1kgU

    Clip of Marguerite Patten inducing a show from the 1950s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgG9oMq4l2U

    Clip of Fanny Cradock demonstrating fish cookery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EQJ8GnDsiw

    Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D95rMYL1T2A

    Gary Rhodes and Rhodes Around Britain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=fvJym_0sQ8I

    Check out Kevin’s books on his Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/19684992.Kevin_Geddes

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

    Fanny Cradock with Kevin Geddes: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2U50gtyEgV4hcTvMFP2ElG?si=a7cad3d39eab4e13

     

    Other bits:

    The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

    Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

    He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/events/dark-history-sugar/

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’

  • Esteemed food historian Marc Meltonville returns to the podcast to talk about taverns, 18th century dining and the cook and author Richard Briggs, the focus of his new book The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining Through the Recipes of Richard Briggs which has recently been published by Prospect Books.

    We talked about how he found out about Richard Briggs and his book; the similarities and differences between life and cooking then and now; who may have influenced Briggs’ writing; his death; broiling and other older English words the Brits no longer use but North Americans do; authenticity; and much more.

    Marc’s website: www.meltonville.uk

    Find Marc on Instagram @marcmeltonville

    Buy The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining Through the Recipes of Richard Briggs from the publisher: https://prospectbooks.co.uk/products-page/current-titles/the-tavern-cook/

    There is 1 Easter egg associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription. Subscribers get access to all of the Easter eggs, premium blog content and Neil’s monthly newsletter. Visit https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details. On that page, you could also donate a one-off ‘virtual coffee’ or ‘virtual pint’. All money received goes into making more content.

     

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

    Recreating 16th Century Beer with Susan Flavin & Marc Meltonville https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wtjaqTVyqjacVkyvvO3FP?si=b3c29819ed7b453a

    Elizabeth Raffald with Alessandra Pino & Neil Buttery https://open.spotify.com/episode/0oPYbFhNAfIHOfj6KL9RWC?si=cfdfadbbf32a4d24

    18th Century Dining with Ivan Day https://open.spotify.com/episode/22BHsKHncyk2i6UXEzcIY2?si=92c16fc7a2904e45

     

    Other bits:

    Neil’s new blog post about malt loaf, with recipe for subscribers: http://britishfoodhistory.com/2023/07/28/to-make-malt-loaf/

    The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

    Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

    He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/

    Neil’s Elizabeth Raffald tour of Manchester on Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1634872473396342784

    Neil’s blogs:

    ‘British Food: a History’

  • Today Neil talks with Brigitte Webster about her new book Eating with the Tudors which has just been published by Pen & Sword History.

    We talked about how she came to live in her Tudor house; how the food changed going in and coming out of the Tudor period; food and the four humours and how ideas about those also changed; favourite cookbooks; fritters; sops; mince pies; cheese; and many other things.

    Follow Brigitte on Twitter @tudorfoodrecipe;

    Instagram @tudor_experience; Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064747654339

    Buy Eating with the Tudors, published by Pen & Sword History: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Eating-with-the-Tudors-Hardback/p/23659

    Transcript of The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin on the Foods of England website: http://www.foodsofengland.co.uk/book1594huswife.htm#:~:text=London%201594-,The%20good%20Huswifes%20Handmaide%20for%20the%20Kitchin.,the%20same%20to%20the%20Table.

    There are 2 Easter eggs associated with this episode, to access them start a monthly £3 subscription.

    Subscribers get access to all of the Easter eggs, premium blog content and Neil’s monthly newsletter. Visit https://britishfoodhistory.com/support-the-blog-podcast/ for more details. On that page, you could also donate a one-off ‘virtual coffee’ or ‘virtual pint’. All money received goes into making more content.

    Previous podcast episodes pertinent to this episode

    Cheddar& the Cheese Industry with Peter J. Atkins: https://open.spotify.com/episode/19pckHxXKXfQlFf8xINGgW?si=88a8649064494657 

    The History of Lent: https://open.spotify.com/episode/05EKPFVQaXmVf54tbh1xIC?si=e8dccb1b959c4014

    Other bits:

    The Elizabeth Raffald Manchester Central Library event at 6pm on 13 September: https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elizabeth-raffald-englands-most-influential-housekeeper/

    Neil will be speaking at the Ludlow Food Festival on Sunday 10 September at 2.30pm, talking all things Elizabeth Raffald: https://www.ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk/

    He is also talking at Chelsea History Festival on Friday 29 September 2023, at 6pm about the history of sugar: https://chelseahistoryfestival.com/

    Neil’s Elizabeth Raffald tour of Manchester on Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilbuttery/status/1634872473396342784

    Neil’s blogs: ‘British Food: a History’ http://britishfoodhistory.com

    ‘Neil Cooks Grigson’